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Colleen B. Jonsson

Birmingham , AL | Distinguished Ag Alumni: 2007

Careful, measured steps guide Colleen
Jonsson, whether she’s pursuing her
passion for rock climbing or researching
human viruses. And when she says, “I
really like the mix of basic and field; I
enjoy trying to think about what’s going
on in nature,” she’s referring to her
work, but she could be speaking of
rappelling, as well.
Jonsson began her life of science by
earning biology and chemistry degrees in
1983 from the University of Missouri,
then spending two years at Monsanto,
engineering plants for fungal disease
resistance.
Eager to take the next step in learning,
she then headed to Purdue University for
a biochemistry doctorate. “I was
fascinated by pathogens that affected
agricultural crops,” she says. After
earning her Ph.D. in 1985, she climbed
higher in her knowledge quest, studying
the HIV virus for three years as a
postdoctoral biochemist at Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School.
“My fundamental fascination is the
interaction of pathogens and their hosts,
in the broadest sense and in all aspects,”
she says. When she headed to New
Mexico State in 1993 as an assistant
professor, she intended to return to plant
research. But that’s when the state
experienced hantavirus outbreaks. “That
caught my attention, and I have been
working on it ever since,” she says. After
a decade in the Land of Enchantment, she
brought her interests to the University of
Alabama and the Southern Research
Institute, where today she’s program
leader for emerging infections disease
research in the drug discovery division.
There, Jonsson oversees a team
researching hantavirus, avian flu, RSV,
SARS, and other infectious diseases.
Their studies include land use practices,
climate, the environment, and potential
treatments.
Those long days of research, data
analysis and publishing results call for a
physical counterbalance, which she gets
climbing the rugged rocks and practicing
hot yoga.
“Purdue prepared me for various challenges I’ve
faced academically, providing me with a
broad and fairly deep background.
Those were great building blocks. I’ve never felt
that I didn’t know where to go for more.”